Once again we will celebrate winter's arrival with our school wide "Solstice Stroll." Mark your calendars for Friday December 19th at 6pm. We will meet at Stowe Elementary School for songs, snacks and strolling into town of course! All are welcome. More details to come, so stay tuned.
Classroom Transitions
Is your child transitioning into a new classroom? Feel free to visit with your child's new teachers so you can ask questions, or discuss any new classroom routines and expectations.
If your child is making the jump from downstairs to upstairs, here are a few tips:
Allow a few extra minutes for your morning drop off. We encourage your involvement as your child gets situated in the classroom for the day.
Follow our morning routine:
1. Come on in, take off outdoor shoes, and help your child in taking off outdoor shoes and clothing, put on inside shoes.
2. Put boots and clothing away in the cubby.
3. Place lunch in the child's basket and take to the fridge.
4. Help your child wash/dry their hands.
5. Hugs, kisses, and goodbyes.
We encourage the children to do as much as they are able at drop off, and your help and guidance is greatly appreciated! If you have any questions or need help please make sure to ask.
Child Development Training
This week Beth and Sam attended a training on Developmental Monitoring and Autism Spectrum Disorders. They learned more about developmental milestones for children from birth to age 5, as well as general signs for a number of developmental delays. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has quite a few online resources for families on their website, including a rundown of milestones by age.
Overall, this can be a nice starting point to folks to examine the different stages that a child goes through in regard to their physical, social and emotional health. However, there are a lot of ways to approach the broad term of "development" and this is but only one tool. What's perhaps missing from the CDC's look at development is the diversity of research and attention that has been paid to this topic by others: Montessori and Waldorf schools for example, and a whole host of educational philosophers. If you have interest in learning more about child development from multiple perspectives, Montessori can offer a pretty fascinating first look. Here's a link to a blog entry from Age of Montessori, a teacher training program specializing in Montessori philosophy to get the wheels turning!
Classroom Happenings:
Infant I: There were new mazes in the classroom for the babies to explore, and explore they did! Indoor activities have been a little more prevalent this week due to the cold, so Angie and Katie have made every effort to bring the outdoors in. The children did pinecone paintings this week, and made a pine cone mobile.
Certainly a mess, but a very fun one! Snesory play is a crucial aspect of this classroom. We all learn best when involving multiple senses. Here's a great link all about the importance and benefits of Sensory Play! If you'd like some recipes or sensory ideas please let us know, we'd be happy to share.
Toddler I: Now we are 2! Another birthday this week in the class, which means three of the students are now 2 years old. There is a brand new structure in the classroom for climbing, crawling and sliding and it is truly the bee's knees, the kids really can't get enough of it. The gross motor skills in this room are increasing every single day. We've also observed some negotiating skills among the children. We've also heard a few children say, "Go up the stairs and down the slide" to avoid collisions! Additionally, there has been quite a lot of dress up play thanks to a few wacky pairs of sunglasses and a tutu that have appeared this week.
Toddler II: Next week we will welcome a new student to our class. On Thursday, a visitor came to observe Beth in action for her Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education course. The children really showed their stuff and were on their best behavior and made our guest feel very welcome. This week, the kids enjoyed reading a longer book about a wild toboggan ride, and had some fun textures in the sensory table. The children chose oatmeal, pasta, and pipe cleaners. We saw some fine motor skills hard at work with those materials.
Pre-K: The children are currently investigating beavers. Check out their KWL chart in the classroom (KWL stands for: what i Know about the topic, what i Want to know, what i Learned). Of particular interest is just what beavers do in the winter. Additionally, the class has been noticing animal tracks in the snow, and they are trying to figure out who made them. The class has concluded that turkeys do not really hibernate, as there are tracks EVERYWHERE around the school…there was even a turkey spotting this week.
Thanks for Reading!
The weather outside might be frightful, but the playground is still delightful! -Sam